Death of Baby P
Encyclopedia
Peter Connelly was an English
17-month old boy who died in London
after suffering more than 50 injuries over an eight-month period, during which he was repeatedly seen by Haringey Children's services and NHS health professionals. Baby P's real first name was revealed as "Peter" on the conclusion of a subsequent trial of Peter's mother's boyfriend on a charge of raping a two-year-old. His full identity was revealed when his killers were named after the expiry of a court anonymity order on 10 August 2009.
The case caused shock and concern among the public and in Parliament, partly because of the magnitude of Peter's injuries, and partly because Peter had lived in the London Borough of Haringey
, North London, under the same child care authorities that had already failed ten years earlier in the case of Victoria Climbié. This had led to a public enquiry which resulted in measures being put in place in an effort to prevent similar cases happening.
Peter's mother, Tracey Connelly, her boyfriend, Steven Barker, and Jason Owen (later revealed to be the brother of Barker) were all convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child, the mother having pleaded guilty to the charge. A court order
issued by the High Court in England
had prevented the publication of the identity of Baby P; this was lifted on 1 May 2009 by Mr Justice Coleridge. An order sought by Haringey Council to stop publication of the identities of his mother and her boyfriend, was granted, but expired on 10 August 2009.
The child protection services of Haringey and other agencies were widely criticised. Following the conviction, three inquiries and a nationwide review of social service care were launched, and the Head of Children's Services at Haringey removed by direction of the Government minister. Another nationwide review was conducted by Lord Laming
into his own recommendations concerning Victoria Climbié's killing in 2000. The death was also the subject of debate in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.
noticed bruises on Peter's face and chest. His mother was arrested and Peter was put into the care of a family friend, but returned home to his mother's care in January 2007. Over the next few months, Peter was admitted to hospital on two occasions suffering from injuries including bruising, scratches and swelling on the side of the head. Connelly was arrested again in May 2007.
In June 2007, a social worker observed marks on Peter and informed the police. A medical examination concluded that the bruising was due to abuse
. On 4 June, the baby was placed with a friend for safeguarding. Over a month later, on 25 July, Haringey Council's Children & Young People's Service obtained legal advice which indicated that the "threshold for initiating Care Proceedings...was not met".
On 1 August 2007, Baby Peter was seen at St. Ann's Hospital
in north London by locum paediatrician Dr. Sabah Al-Zayyat. Serious injuries, including a broken back and broken ribs, very likely went undetected (the autopsy report believed these to have pre-dated Al-Zayyat's examination).
On 2 August, Connelly was informed that she would not be prosecuted.
. After attempts at resuscitation, he was taken to North Middlesex hospital with his mother but was pronounced dead at 12:20 pm. A post-mortem revealed he had swallowed a tooth after being punched. Other injuries included a broken back, broken ribs, mutilated fingertips and fingernails missing.
The police immediately began a murder investigation and Baby P's mother was arrested. So too were Barker, his brother Jason Owen and his 15-year-old girlfriend, who had fled to and were hiding in a campsite in Epping Forest
.
A second trial occurred in April 2009, when Connelly and Barker, under aliases, faced charges related to the rape
of a two-year old girl. The girl was also on Haringey's child protection register. Barker was found guilty of rape, while Connelly was found not guilty of child cruelty charges. Their defence lawyers argued that this second trial was nearly undermined by blog
gers publishing information (linking them to the death of Peter) which could have prejudiced the jury.
Sentencing for both trials together took place on 22 May 2009 at the Old Bailey
. Connelly was ordered to be held indefinitely
, until "deemed no longer to be a risk to the public and in particular to small children", with a minimum term of five years. Barker was sentenced to life imprisonment
for the rape, with a minimum sentence of ten years, and a 12-year sentence for his role in the death of Peter, to run concurrently. Owen was also jailed indefinitely, and would serve at least three years. The sentences were criticised as too lenient by the NSPCC
's chief executive, and the Attorney General
considered referring them to the Court of Appeal for review, but concluded there was "no realistic prospect" of the Court of Appeal increasing the sentences. The three appealed against their sentences, Barker against both convictions and sentences.
and David Lammy
), leader of the opposition Robert Gorrie, and opposition spokesperson for Children's Services were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements to view the document. Ed Balls condemned the Serious Case Review and called for a second report with an independent adjudicator.
The Mail on Sunday on 15 March 2009 reported that details of the SCR had come into its possession. The article claimed that the executive summary of the SCR either conflicted or omitted details about how the case had been handled and the extent of the injuries suffered by Peter. Furthermore, there were instances of mishandling by officials, missed and delayed meetings, miscommunication among officials, and a failure to follow through with decisions related to the child's safety. It also noted among other issues that officials had not followed through with obtaining an "interim care order" that would have removed Peter from his home when they had agreed that legal grounds had existed for doing so six months before he died; key officials also failed to attend a 25 July 2007 meeting intended to decide if it would be necessary to remove Peter from his mother's home at that time.
MP was critical of Haringey Council, writing "I personally met with George Meehan and Ita O'Donovan - Haringey Council's leader and chief executive - to raise with them three different cases, where the pattern was in each case Haringey seeming to want to blame anyone who complained rather than to look at the complaint seriously. I was promised action - but despite repeated subsequent requests for news on progress - I was just stonewalled."
Three council workers, including one senior lawyer, were given written warnings about their actions.
The GMC separately examined the roles of two doctors — Dr. Jerome Ikwueke, a GP, and Dr. Sabah Al-Zayyat, who examined Peter two days before his death. Although Dr. Ikwueke had twice referred Peter to hospital specialists, the GMC's Interim Orders Panel suspended Dr. Ikwueke for 18 months. Dr. Al-Zayyat, who has been accused of failing to spot his injuries, was suspended pending an inquiry. Her contract with Great Ormond Street Hospital
, responsible for child services in Haringey, has also been terminated.
Ed Balls
, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families ordered an external inquiry into Haringey Council Social Services. The inquiry was not to examine the 'Baby P' case explicitly, but look into whether Haringey Social Services were following correct procedures in general. This report was presented to ministers on 1 December 2008. During a Press Conference that day, the Minister announced that, in an unusual move, he had used special powers to remove Sharon Shoesmith from her post of head of children's services at Haringey Council. She rejected calls for her resignation, saying that she wanted to continue to support her staff during the investigations, but was dismissed on 8 December 2008, by Haringey Council, without any compensation package. Shoesmith later brought legal proceedings against Ed Balls, Ofsted, and Haringey Council, claiming that the decisions which lead to her dismissal were unfair. The High Court dismissed this claim in April 2010, although Shoesmith was still entitled to pursue an action for unfair dismissal in an Employment Tribunal. In May 2011, Shoesmith's appeal against that succeeded in the Court of Appeal; the Department of Education and Haringey Council said they intended to appeal to the Supreme Court against this decision.. Their applications for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court were refused on 1 August 2011.
Also announced on 1 December 2008, were the resignations of Labour
Council leader George Meehan and councillor Liz Santry, cabinet member for Children and Young People. These councillors had previously refused calls for their resignation during a 24 November council meeting. In April 2009, the council announced that its deputy director of children's services, two other managers and a social worker, who had been suspended pending an enquiry, had also all been dismissed.
Three further inquires were also ordered:
The DES, now the Department for Children, Schools and Families
(DCSF) was sent a letter in February 2007 (six months before the death of Baby P), containing an allegation that child protection procedures were not being followed in Haringey, from a lawyer acting for a former social worker, who sent the letter to the then health secretary, Patricia Hewitt
who merely forwarded the letter on to the DCSF. Haringey Council then took out an injunction against the social worker, Nevres Kemal, banning her from speaking about child care in Haringey. Kemal's lawyer stated: "Hewitt bounced us onto the DES... the DES then advised us to write to the Commission for Social Care Inspection whom we had written to on the same day as we had written to Hewitt, copying in the letter to Hewitt and the relevant material. By that time of course they had an injunction against us so we couldn't go back to the inspectorate. The inspectorate had been properly advised at the time and had done nothing."
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
17-month old boy who died in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
after suffering more than 50 injuries over an eight-month period, during which he was repeatedly seen by Haringey Children's services and NHS health professionals. Baby P's real first name was revealed as "Peter" on the conclusion of a subsequent trial of Peter's mother's boyfriend on a charge of raping a two-year-old. His full identity was revealed when his killers were named after the expiry of a court anonymity order on 10 August 2009.
The case caused shock and concern among the public and in Parliament, partly because of the magnitude of Peter's injuries, and partly because Peter had lived in the London Borough of Haringey
London Borough of Haringey
The London Borough of Haringey is a London borough, in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of three former boroughs. It shares borders with six other London boroughs...
, North London, under the same child care authorities that had already failed ten years earlier in the case of Victoria Climbié. This had led to a public enquiry which resulted in measures being put in place in an effort to prevent similar cases happening.
Peter's mother, Tracey Connelly, her boyfriend, Steven Barker, and Jason Owen (later revealed to be the brother of Barker) were all convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child, the mother having pleaded guilty to the charge. A court order
Court order
A court order is an official proclamation by a judge that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other court proceedings. Such ruling requires or authorizes the carrying out of certain steps by one or more parties to a case...
issued by the High Court in England
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
had prevented the publication of the identity of Baby P; this was lifted on 1 May 2009 by Mr Justice Coleridge. An order sought by Haringey Council to stop publication of the identities of his mother and her boyfriend, was granted, but expired on 10 August 2009.
The child protection services of Haringey and other agencies were widely criticised. Following the conviction, three inquiries and a nationwide review of social service care were launched, and the Head of Children's Services at Haringey removed by direction of the Government minister. Another nationwide review was conducted by Lord Laming
Herbert Laming, Baron Laming
William Herbert Laming, Baron Laming, CBE isa British social worker and Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords. On 29 June 2011, it was announced that he had been elected to succeed Baroness D'Souza as Convenor of the Crossbench Peers; he will take up the post in September 2011 when the House...
into his own recommendations concerning Victoria Climbié's killing in 2000. The death was also the subject of debate in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.
Events leading to the death
Peter Connelly was born to Tracey Connelly on 1 March 2006. In November, Connelly's new boyfriend, Steven Barker, moved in with her. In December, a GPGeneral practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
noticed bruises on Peter's face and chest. His mother was arrested and Peter was put into the care of a family friend, but returned home to his mother's care in January 2007. Over the next few months, Peter was admitted to hospital on two occasions suffering from injuries including bruising, scratches and swelling on the side of the head. Connelly was arrested again in May 2007.
In June 2007, a social worker observed marks on Peter and informed the police. A medical examination concluded that the bruising was due to abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
. On 4 June, the baby was placed with a friend for safeguarding. Over a month later, on 25 July, Haringey Council's Children & Young People's Service obtained legal advice which indicated that the "threshold for initiating Care Proceedings...was not met".
On 1 August 2007, Baby Peter was seen at St. Ann's Hospital
St. Ann's Hospital
St. Ann's Hospital is a hospital located opposite Chestnuts Park, on the border of West Green & Harringay in Haringey, north London.The hospital has until recently been largely a mental health care facility, however, it now also provides outpatient services, which include MRI and ophthalmological...
in north London by locum paediatrician Dr. Sabah Al-Zayyat. Serious injuries, including a broken back and broken ribs, very likely went undetected (the autopsy report believed these to have pre-dated Al-Zayyat's examination).
On 2 August, Connelly was informed that she would not be prosecuted.
Death
On 3 August 2007, an ambulance was called and Peter was found in his cot, blue and clad only in a nappyDiaper
A nappy or a diaper is a kind of pant that allows one to defecate or urinate on oneself discreetly. When diapers become soiled, they require changing; this process is often performed by a second person such as a parent or caregiver...
. After attempts at resuscitation, he was taken to North Middlesex hospital with his mother but was pronounced dead at 12:20 pm. A post-mortem revealed he had swallowed a tooth after being punched. Other injuries included a broken back, broken ribs, mutilated fingertips and fingernails missing.
The police immediately began a murder investigation and Baby P's mother was arrested. So too were Barker, his brother Jason Owen and his 15-year-old girlfriend, who had fled to and were hiding in a campsite in Epping Forest
Epping Forest
Epping Forest is an area of ancient woodland in south-east England, straddling the border between north-east Greater London and Essex. It is a former royal forest, and is managed by the City of London Corporation....
.
Conviction
On 11 November 2008, Owen, 36, and his brother Barker, 32, were found guilty of "causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable person". Connelly, 27, had pleaded guilty to this charge. Earlier in the trial, Owen and Connelly had been cleared of murder due to insufficient evidence. Barker was found not guilty of murder by a jury.A second trial occurred in April 2009, when Connelly and Barker, under aliases, faced charges related to the rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
of a two-year old girl. The girl was also on Haringey's child protection register. Barker was found guilty of rape, while Connelly was found not guilty of child cruelty charges. Their defence lawyers argued that this second trial was nearly undermined by blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
gers publishing information (linking them to the death of Peter) which could have prejudiced the jury.
Sentencing for both trials together took place on 22 May 2009 at the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
. Connelly was ordered to be held indefinitely
Indefinite imprisonment
Indefinite imprisonment or indeterminate imprisonment is the imposition of a sentence by imprisonment with no definite period of time set during sentencing. Its length, rather, is determined during imprisonment based on the inmate's conduct...
, until "deemed no longer to be a risk to the public and in particular to small children", with a minimum term of five years. Barker was sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
for the rape, with a minimum sentence of ten years, and a 12-year sentence for his role in the death of Peter, to run concurrently. Owen was also jailed indefinitely, and would serve at least three years. The sentences were criticised as too lenient by the NSPCC
NSPCC
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is a United Kingdom charity campaigning and working in child protection.-History:...
's chief executive, and the Attorney General
Attorney General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in...
considered referring them to the Court of Appeal for review, but concluded there was "no realistic prospect" of the Court of Appeal increasing the sentences. The three appealed against their sentences, Barker against both convictions and sentences.
Internal inquiry
Haringey Council initiated an internal audit Serious Case Review (SCR) after Peter's death. After completion of the court case, only an executive summary was released to the public. The full report was kept confidential, with only some employees of Haringey Council and Haringey Labour councillors allowed access. The two local MPs whose constituencies cover Haringey (Lynne FeatherstoneLynne Featherstone
Lynne Choona Featherstone , is a British Liberal Democrat politician, and the Member of Parliament for Hornsey and Wood Green....
and David Lammy
David Lammy
David Lindon Lammy is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Tottenham since 2000.Lammy has commented on Britain's history of slavery.-Early life and Education:...
), leader of the opposition Robert Gorrie, and opposition spokesperson for Children's Services were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements to view the document. Ed Balls condemned the Serious Case Review and called for a second report with an independent adjudicator.
The Mail on Sunday on 15 March 2009 reported that details of the SCR had come into its possession. The article claimed that the executive summary of the SCR either conflicted or omitted details about how the case had been handled and the extent of the injuries suffered by Peter. Furthermore, there were instances of mishandling by officials, missed and delayed meetings, miscommunication among officials, and a failure to follow through with decisions related to the child's safety. It also noted among other issues that officials had not followed through with obtaining an "interim care order" that would have removed Peter from his home when they had agreed that legal grounds had existed for doing so six months before he died; key officials also failed to attend a 25 July 2007 meeting intended to decide if it would be necessary to remove Peter from his mother's home at that time.
External reports and inquiries
Lynne FeatherstoneLynne Featherstone
Lynne Choona Featherstone , is a British Liberal Democrat politician, and the Member of Parliament for Hornsey and Wood Green....
MP was critical of Haringey Council, writing "I personally met with George Meehan and Ita O'Donovan - Haringey Council's leader and chief executive - to raise with them three different cases, where the pattern was in each case Haringey seeming to want to blame anyone who complained rather than to look at the complaint seriously. I was promised action - but despite repeated subsequent requests for news on progress - I was just stonewalled."
Three council workers, including one senior lawyer, were given written warnings about their actions.
The GMC separately examined the roles of two doctors — Dr. Jerome Ikwueke, a GP, and Dr. Sabah Al-Zayyat, who examined Peter two days before his death. Although Dr. Ikwueke had twice referred Peter to hospital specialists, the GMC's Interim Orders Panel suspended Dr. Ikwueke for 18 months. Dr. Al-Zayyat, who has been accused of failing to spot his injuries, was suspended pending an inquiry. Her contract with Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children is a children's hospital located in London, United Kingdom...
, responsible for child services in Haringey, has also been terminated.
Ed Balls
Ed Balls
Edward Michael Balls, known as Ed Balls, is a British Labour politician, who has been a Member of Parliament since 2005, currently for Morley and Outwood, and is the current Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer....
, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families ordered an external inquiry into Haringey Council Social Services. The inquiry was not to examine the 'Baby P' case explicitly, but look into whether Haringey Social Services were following correct procedures in general. This report was presented to ministers on 1 December 2008. During a Press Conference that day, the Minister announced that, in an unusual move, he had used special powers to remove Sharon Shoesmith from her post of head of children's services at Haringey Council. She rejected calls for her resignation, saying that she wanted to continue to support her staff during the investigations, but was dismissed on 8 December 2008, by Haringey Council, without any compensation package. Shoesmith later brought legal proceedings against Ed Balls, Ofsted, and Haringey Council, claiming that the decisions which lead to her dismissal were unfair. The High Court dismissed this claim in April 2010, although Shoesmith was still entitled to pursue an action for unfair dismissal in an Employment Tribunal. In May 2011, Shoesmith's appeal against that succeeded in the Court of Appeal; the Department of Education and Haringey Council said they intended to appeal to the Supreme Court against this decision.. Their applications for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court were refused on 1 August 2011.
Also announced on 1 December 2008, were the resignations of Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
Council leader George Meehan and councillor Liz Santry, cabinet member for Children and Young People. These councillors had previously refused calls for their resignation during a 24 November council meeting. In April 2009, the council announced that its deputy director of children's services, two other managers and a social worker, who had been suspended pending an enquiry, had also all been dismissed.
Three further inquires were also ordered:
- The role of all agencies involved in Peter Connelly's case, including the health authority, police and Haringey Council, would be reviewed.
- The General Social Care Council would look into potential breaches of its code of practice.
- Lord LamingHerbert Laming, Baron LamingWilliam Herbert Laming, Baron Laming, CBE isa British social worker and Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords. On 29 June 2011, it was announced that he had been elected to succeed Baroness D'Souza as Convenor of the Crossbench Peers; he will take up the post in September 2011 when the House...
would conduct a nationwide review of his own recommendations after the Victoria Climbié inquiry.
The DES, now the Department for Children, Schools and Families
Department for Children, Schools and Families
The Department for Children, Schools and Families was a department of the UK government, between 2007 and 2010, responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including child protection and education...
(DCSF) was sent a letter in February 2007 (six months before the death of Baby P), containing an allegation that child protection procedures were not being followed in Haringey, from a lawyer acting for a former social worker, who sent the letter to the then health secretary, Patricia Hewitt
Patricia Hewitt
Patricia Hope Hewitt is an Australian-born British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Leicester West from 1997 until 2010. She served in the Cabinet until 2007, most recently as Health Secretary....
who merely forwarded the letter on to the DCSF. Haringey Council then took out an injunction against the social worker, Nevres Kemal, banning her from speaking about child care in Haringey. Kemal's lawyer stated: "Hewitt bounced us onto the DES... the DES then advised us to write to the Commission for Social Care Inspection whom we had written to on the same day as we had written to Hewitt, copying in the letter to Hewitt and the relevant material. By that time of course they had an injunction against us so we couldn't go back to the inspectorate. The inspectorate had been properly advised at the time and had done nothing."